Indian AI film ‘Kaliyug Rising: The Beginning’ ranks in top 10 globally among 9,000 entries

In a Monumental stride for India’s emerging AI film space, Kaliyug Rising: The Beginning — directed by Prataya Saha and produced in collaboration with Imagine If — has ranked ninth out of over 9,000 entries at the Higgsfield ‘Make Your Action’ competition. This AI-hybrid film stands as the only Indian entry to crack the global top 10. Following their breakthrough success, we catch up with the team as they were still taking it in, speaking about the win with a mix of disbelief and clarity about what comes next.

Makers on the AI-hybrid film, Kaliyug Rising: The Beginning

“You need to ride it and see how far you can go… use it as an assistant rather than a competitor,” says filmmaker Prataya Saha, who sees AI as something to work with, not against. Built in over 84 hours across nearcontinuous video calls, the film merges traditional processes with AI-led execution. The process is anchored by Krishna Tangirala, whose studio Imagine If operates as an AI-first setup combining creative direction with machine-driven production. “The only thing that’s changed is the production process… the pre-production and post-production stay the same,” Krishna explains, reinforcing that storytelling, casting and creative intent remain human-led.

AI and artistry

Ankush Deva, the film’s AI artist, comes from a background in cinematography. In this project, his role involved creating visuals through AI rather than shooting them on camera. Each frame had to be generated, tested and refined until it aligned with the story. “We had to generate more than 700 images… because character consistency is very difficult,” he says, referring to the challenge of making the same character look identical across multiple shots. AI-generated visuals can vary with each output, making repetition necessary to maintain continuity.

Sound, too, followed a similar logic. “When Prataya told me the story, it became very simple to understand what he was trying to say,” says Pratap Chandra, who handled the music and sound design. Ethics remain central to their approach. “One of the most important things is ethical use of AI,” Krishna says, outlining their focus on consent, water marking and accountability.

Kaliyug Rising: The Beginning is streaming on YouTube.

Written by Anoushka Kundu

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